The
new discovery:

For centuries
rumors of mysterious white lions (Panthera leo
krugeri) had been circulating
in South Africa. Legend said
the white pelage represented the good to be found in
all creatures.

Strong claims of sightings started to
surface in 1928. Scattered reports continued over
the next 47 years, until confirmation of the colouration came
in 1975 when a litter containing
two white cubs was seenat
Timbavati Game Reserve, adjacent to Kruger National Park.

The discovery
came as researcher and conservationist Chris McBride was studying
lions at Timbavati. In October, his elder sister and her son
visited. While Chris lay in bed sick and feeling sorry for himself,
they went out alone with a tracker for the day
and spotted lioness 'Tabby' at a kill. With her were three new
cubs, one tawny, and two which were as white as polar bears.
They were roughly two weeks old.

The white specimens
proved to be male and female. The McBride Family named them Temba
(Zulu for 'hope') and Tombi ('girl'). The standard-coloured
cub was called Vela ('surprise').

Disadvantages
for white lions:

Along with the
observation
of the cubs came the increasing realisation that white lions would be
at significant disadvantages in the wild, and this caused
great concern.

A white lion cub would certainly attract predators
like the hyena, or have trouble concealing themselves
when hunting on the savannah.

The male, Temba,
would eventually reach an age when the two dominant males
of the pride started to see him as a threat. Temba would
then be forced to leave and become nomadic unless he could successfully
fight to take over another pride.

Males are big,
heavy and slow. This explains why the females do most of
the hunting. Add to this the tremendous disadvantage
of having no camouflage, and a nomadic Temba would almost certainly
not be able to get within range of prey animals.

Like the tiger,
the lion is a short distance sprinter and must get within 20-30
metres of an animal prior to attacking. Once in flight all the
lion's primary prey species are much faster than the big cat.
It was entirely possible Temba would simply starve to death.

Tombi would
probably be more fortunate. Lionesses often remain with their
pride of birth. However, if she were rejected for any reason
then Tombi would also become equally at risk.

At least twice
it was necessary for Chris McBride and his assistants to provide
food for the pride so the cubs didn't miss out. On one
of these occasions the cubs were found in a distinctly emaciated
condition.